The Mark of La Volpe
by ThePizzadude93
Summary: There is a black hooded vigilante loose in the streets of present day Venice, Italy. He moves into the shadows and vanishes into the darkness. Inspired by Zorro and Batman, he prowls the rooftops and alleyways at night, searching and fending off wrongdoers in the name of justice. He is fast, cunning, and alert like his namesake. He is known to many and all as…La Volpe.(The Fox.)
1. Chapter 1: Roma's Frustration

**(I do not own Hetalia. All rights belong to Funimation and Hidekazu Himaruya.)**

**Be sure to read and review.**

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**- Chapter 1 -**

**Roma's Frustration.**

Roma Antiqua rubbed the back of his aching neck as he made his way towards the caffettiera (coffee maker) in the modern-decorated kitchen to pour himself a freshly hot mug of Italian macchiato. After doing so, he walked on over to the refrigerator, grabbed a carton of vanilla cream, and poured some into his cup. He then walked over to the smooth, black colored dinner table, with his hot cup of macchiato in his left hand and a roll of this morning's newspaper in his right.

Roma Antiqua was a tall man, approx. 6.4 ft. He had messy, dark-brown hair, a stubble around his chin and lower jaw, and a pair of amber colored eyes. After seating himself and placing his cup on a small plate, he began to unroll his newspaper, very much wanting to read last night's events. As he began to read through the papers, he saw something on the front page that made him frown. After reading the first sentence, the Italian man grumbled in annoyance.

_"The Mysterious La Volpe Strikes Again!"_ it read. Roma further grumbled as he continued to read the rest.

_"The shadowy figure had been spotted near the Piazza San Marco(St. Mark's Square) just yesterday at 9:30 PM. But, just as the authorities began to give chase, the hooded vigilante had already vanished, leaving behind two thugs who were both tied up together."_

After reading the rest of the first page, Roma rubbed the bridge of his nose in utter frustration and then cursed under his breath. This has been going on for two weeks now. Two, long, agonizing weeks of trying to catch this person with very little rest and very little success to add. At every chance Roma got, the hooded vigilante known as La Volpe would somehow slip through his fingers. This agitated the Police Captain very much. Before he could fume any further, footsteps were heard coming from upstairs. Roma looked up and saw someone emerging down the stairs that stood between the kitchen and the clean living room. It was a young man about twenty years of age that had walked down the stairs, yawning and stretching, and all-the-while wearing a pair of green colored pajamas. The young man, who's name was Feliciano Vargas, turned towards the kitchen and smiled at Roma.

"Buongiorno, nonno!(Good morning, grandfather!)" he said in a somewhat high pitched voice. Roma nodded and smiled as well.

"Buongiorno,(Good morning,) Feliciano!" he replied, and went back to reading his newspaper. After that, Feliciano happily walked on over to the kitchen counter, opened the cupboards, and pulled out a cereal box of Gocciole,* a medium-size bowl, and a perfectly round spoon. He then poured some of the Gocciole into the bowl, walked over to the refrigerator, grabbed a carton of milk, and poured it into the cereal bowl.

As mentioned earlier, he appeared to be around in his early-twenties. As a matter of fact, he is exactly twenty years old.

He had hazelnut-brown hair, brown eyes, and a long, wild curl that stuck out on the right side of his hair. Feliciano carried the bowl full of his breakfast cereal over to the kitchen table and sat across from his grandfather. Before he could start a conversation with him, more footsteps were heard from upstairs. Emerging down the steps came another young man who yawned and stretched, wearing but a pair of red pajamas. The young man, who's name was Romano Vargas, walked over to the kitchen with a sour look on his face and Feliciano smiled at him.

"Buongiorno, fratello!(Good morning, brother!)" he said. Romano didn't respond and grabbed the Gocciole cereal box, made himself a bowl, and sat next to their grandfather. Unlike his younger brother Feliciano, who has hazelnut-brown hair, Romano's hair appeared to be a much darker shade, almost chestnut-brown. Just like Feliciano, Romano had a long, wild curl that stuck out of his hair, only instead of sticking out on the right side like his brother, it stuck out on the left. Romano appeared to be in his early-twenties. To be exact, he's twenty three. Unlike his brother, who has amber-brown eyes, Romano's eyes were colored hazel. And unlike Feliciano, who was happy and cheerful, Romano looked like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed - if you get the meaning.

After his brother seated himself, Feliciano noticed the frustration on his grandfather's face.

"What's the matter, grandfather?" he asked with concern.

Romano, who sat next to Roma, leaned rightwards towards him and read what was in the newspaper. A large smirk suddenly laced around his lips.

"It seems the mysterious La Volpe made the front page - again." Romano spoke, in a mildly deep and husky tone. Roma folded the newspaper, set it aside, and again rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. Feliciano spoke again.

"Grandfather? If I may ask you a question," he began. "who is this La Volpe person? Although I've heard the name uttered in whispers and conversations, but I could never get around to asking anyone if they might know." Romano looked at his brother with a frown.

"Maybe if you weren't being so buried in your books and studies like always, little brother," he snapped a little. "perhaps you would know more than now!" Roma then turned to his oldest grandson's direction with a stern frown.

"Romano!" he warned. "Guarda come si parla a tuo fratello!(Watch how you speak to your brother!)" Romano did what he was told and grunted under his breath.

"Mi dispiace.(Sorry.)" he grumbled. After that, Roma turned back to Feliciano, who still sat from across the table.

"If you really must know, mio nipote,(my grandson,)" he began. "all I can say is that this La Volpe is nothing more but a filthy vigilante. A vigilante who believes himself to be above law. He patrols the streets of Venezia(Venice) acting like he is some kind of hero while at the same time concealing his face behind a hood and a mask like an outlaw." Roma stopped for a moment and took a small sip of his macchiato. After that, he continued. "And further more, he assaults other criminals in the dead of night, like he's got some kind of personal vendetta against them! What kind of _'hero' _does that? I swear, if I ever catch him, I will have him put in a jail cell with his name on it." Feliciano looked at his grandfather with astonishment in his young eyes while Romano rolled his in annoyance.

"Have you encountered this person before, nonno?(grandfather?)" Feliciano asked. Roma nodded his head.

"Si, mio nipote.(Yes, my grandson.) I have." he answered. "It was two weeks ago on a Wednesday night and it was 9:45 in the evening. I was out patrolling the streets, here in the San Polo district, with a couple of other police officers. During our patrol, we stopped at a nearby coffee shop and bought ourselves some cups of cappuccinos. Right when I was about to take my fourth sip of my caffè,(coffee,) a voice suddenly blurted through my walkie-talkie. It was the voice of officer Lorenzo Petruzzelli, calling my name.

"I answered my walkie-talkie and asked him what the problem was. He explained to me that there was some kind of scuffle going on near the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.(Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.) So, me and the other two officers got into my car and we quickly drove off to the church. It was about a few blocks away from where we were. Once after we got there, we got out of my car and pulled out our pistole,(pistols,) ready to fight against what was there. What we saw next gave us quite the surprise.

"Right in front of the church, we saw four men lying on the ground, beaten, unconscious, and groaning in pain. However, we saw only one person who stood over them; this person was dressed in some kind of long black cloak and he wore a hood over a mask. Not to mention that he also wore a full-body, skintight spandex suit that was colored dark-gray with a black utility belt wrapped around his waist. It was here that I realized who it was. It was him. The mysterious vigilante that everyone spoke of. The vigilante whom I thought was nothing more but a whispered myth, until now. It was non other than La Volpe himself. Right after he noticed us, he twisted around as if he was about to make a run for it.

"'Freeze!' I shouted. But it was too late, for a large cloud of red smoke suddenly exploded around him. After the smoke had cleared away, we saw that he was already gone, vanished without a trace. And all we found was a small piece of paper with two capitalized letters written on the front that read, 'LV'. And so, night after night, we kept on finding criminals, beaten and tied up - ranging from muggers, purse-snatchers, thugs, drug-dealers, and gang members. But, here's the thing that really bugged me. Every criminal he fights, they always have either broken ribs, black eyes, and missing teeth. Even punctured lungs and broken arms. I realized that this vigilante, this La Volpe, was using brute force to fight these men. I started to believe that this La Volpe was not only a vigilante but also a violent and dangerous one.

"But, there is also another thing that worries me. What if this La Volpe starts playing with a different deck of ethics cards? What if he starts using his methods for personal gain and starts attacking people he _thinks_ are criminals or people he does not like? I started to realize that someone this dangerous should not be allowed to run loose in Venezia.(Venice.) And so, I made it my solemn vow to capture and bring this La Volpe behind bars and lock him up for good." After Roma finished his story, Feliciano continued to look at his grandfather in amazement then started to tremble a little.

"This La Volpe." he said. "I most certainly would not like to come across him in the future." Romano, however, rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Don't listen to him, little brother." he said with a smirk. "Nonno(Grandfather) is just jealous that La Volpe is doing a better job than he is." After hearing those words, Roma turned to his oldest grandson with a stern look.

"You think I'm more worried about him being better than me?" he said in a firm tone. "I am more concerned about the safety of Venezia(Venice) and her citizens. It is not a contest about whose greater than the other. I've said this before and I'll say it again, this La Volpe is a filthy vigilante and is also a menace. He must be put down." Again, Romano rolled his eyes for the third time and walked over to the sink with his now empty cereal bowl. Feliciano, however, remained in his seat.

"Say, nonno?(grandfather?)" he began. "If you don't mind me changing the subject, did the school say anything about the students we will be getting yet?" Roma's face lit up at those words.

"Si, mio nipote.(Yes, my grandson.)" he responded. "I got a letter from the school board last night. Tomorrow, we will be having two students living with us; one from Germany and the other from Spain. That means both you and Romano must go and set up the two guest rooms immediately after breakfast is over." Feliciano nodded his head with a smile.

"Si, nonno.(Yes, grandfather.)" he said cheerfully. "I shall do what I can." After that, Feliciano finished his breakfast, washed the bowl in the sink, went up to his bedroom, and got dressed into his casual clothes. Romano followed him and did the same.

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**(*Gocciole is a breakfast cereal product made by the company Pavasi in Italy. They are the size of a normal biscuit and can be eaten in a cereal bowl or like a chocolate chip cookie.)**

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**Well, what do ya guys think? Was it good? Was it bad? If you wish to let me know, feel free to leave me a nice review so I may see it. **

**Also, did you notice the pajamas that Feliciano and Romano were wearing? I did it as a fun little reference to the Italian flag. ^_^**

**And one other thing. I deleted this story a while ago because I wanted to try and fix it a bit. Well, that's all for now. Until next time, this is ThePizzadude93, signing off. **


	2. Chapter 2: I am La Volpe

**(I do not own Hetalia. All rights belong to Funimation and Hidekazu Himaruya.)**

**Be sure to read and review. **

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**- Chapter 2 -**

**"I am La Volpe."**

Later in the evening…

Fear began to creep into her spine as she stood on her trembling legs, her back against a large brick wall at the end of an alley. The four men, who stood eight ft away from her, crept slowly towards her with big twisted grins and dark chuckles.

Her lips began to quiver in terror and her heart pounded almost just as fast as a hummingbird's. She was trapped, cornered, and there was no way of escape. One of the four men slowly walked up to her and he looked at her with hunger and lust in his eyes. Her guess was that he must be the leader. He was dressed in a white colored, sleeveless athletic shirt and a pair of blue pants. He also wore a dark brown hoodie jacket that was worn over his athletic shirt. He appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties and he had slick black hair that was combed to the left side. He had a small stubble around his chin and he had dark eyes.

Dark eyes that were filled with twisted and terrible desires.

He looked at her with a big smirk on his face and chuckled in a low tone.

"There is nowhere left to run, il mio dolce.(my sweet.)" he said in a husky voice. "You might as well give up. There is nothing you can do now." As he crept closer, the girl's heart began to beat faster than before. She felt fresh hot tears slowly welling up inside her eyes and she tried to keep them from coming out.

"S-Stay back!" she barked in a fearful stutter. "I-I will scream." The man merely laughed at her words as if it was a joke.

"Go ahead." he said. "Scream all you wish. No one will come and save you from what we're about to do to you." After speaking those words, the man suddenly lunged forward and wrapped his strong arms around the girls body, trapping her arms in the process. The girl struggled to escape from his grasp, but the man proved to be too strong and he would not let go. She felt the man breathe against her ear, causing the hairs all over her body to stand up on all ends.

"I hope you're ready for what's going to happen next, il mio amore.(my love.)" he whispered in a dark and seductive tone. After that, he turned his gaze to his three friends and smiled sadistically.

"Signori?(Gentlemen?)" he began. "Would the three of you be so kind enough to relieve this girl of her 'coverings'?" The girl's eyes widened in horror and their grins grew bigger on hearing those words. She could hardly believe what she had just heard. They were going to rip her clothes off. They were going to strip her naked and then rape her. As those terrible thoughts went through her mind, the girl desperately struggled and kicked to get away. But again, her attempt was futile. Right at the moment, as one of the men went to unbutton her pants, the girl shrieked to the top of her lungs, hoping that someone would hear her cries for help. After four seconds of screaming, her mouth was suddenly covered by a hand. The man holding her had covered her mouth and kept her from being heard. It was at this point that hot tears had finally escaped from the girls eyes and trickled down her cheeks. She was going to get raped. They were about to take away her innocence. But then, another thought came to her. What would they do with her after they were done? As if reading her mind, one of the three men spoke to the leader.

"Say, Carlo?" he asked. "What are we going to do with her after this is over?" Carlo's face darkened and glanced at the man with malevolent eyes.

"Simple, Lucio." he began. "We're going to dump her dead body in the Canal. Wouldn't want her opening her little mouth to the polizia.(police.)" The girl could not believe her ears. They were going to kill her after this? Hot tears continued to drip down her face as she watched helplessly while Lucio continued to unbutton and unzip her pants. Just as he was about to pull them down, he suddenly felt something wrap around his neck. It felt like it was some kind of wire. Whatever it was, it immediately tightened hard and Lucio began to choke. And then, within a split second, he felt himself being suddenly lifted up into the air and then vanished into the darkness above. Carlo and the two other thugs looked up with sudden surprise written on their faces.

"Lucio?" Carlo called. No answer. "…Lucio?!" Again, no answer. The girl was just as surprised as her captors were. But then, she quickly shook her head, getting out of her distracted trance. While her captors were distracted, the girl elbowed Carlo in the crotch which caused him to let go, ran pass the two thugs, and darted toward the opening far ahead.

"Stop her!" Carlo commanded while sprawling on the floor. "Don't let her get away!" The two men nodded their heads at this command. Before they were about to give chase, something out of nowhere appeared before them, causing the two thugs to back away. A mysterious figure had landed in front of the three men, blocking their means of chasing after the girl. The figure slowly stood straight up then slowly walked toward them. Carlo and the others saw that the figure wore a long, satin-made black cloak that draped over the shoulders and went down to his upper ankles. The cloak almost covered the figure's frame, while the mantle on the shoulders provided an additional layer. The lining of the cloak however was colored scarlet-red, which was also made of satin. The figure wore a black hood that went with the mantle and cloak. He also wore a black spandex mask that was worn underneath the hood and it covered his entire head, neck, and face, save for two open eyeholes. The mask also had a metal face plate that covered both the mouth and the nose, making the mask look almost ninja-like. As the figure moved a bit closer, he reached his arms out and spread away both sides of the cloak near the back of his shoulders, revealing his entire body underneath.

The figure was dressed in a full-body spandex suit that was colored dark-gray and a black utility belt was looped around his waist. The suite was so skintight, it revealed outlines of the figure's partially muscular frame. And lastly, he also wore a pair of tight leather black gloves that went up to his elbows and black pirate-style leather boots that went up just below the knee and the cuffs were folded over. Carlo and the two men stared at the figure and soon, recognition appeared in their brains and their eyes widened in surprise.

"Your him." Carlo said, almost nervously. "Your that vigilante everyone here in Venezia(Venice) is talking about." The figure smirked under his mask.

"You are correct, signore.(sir.)" he responded, in an almost deep sounding voice. "I am he that which all feccia criminale(criminal scum) like you fear in your dreams. I am he who prowls the rooftops and alleyways in the dark of the night. And I am he who strikes terror into the hearts of the criminals and the corrupt." Carlo began to sweat nervously as the figure came closer. The figure then halted and raised both arms out in a fashion of being about to be embraced.

"I am La Volpe.(The Fox.)" he spoke, slowly, loudly, and clearly. "Now that the introductions are out of the way, come! Come and face me in combat! That is if you're too afraid." Those last words seemed to have gotten to Carlo and he suddenly scowled at the hooded vigilante.

"I am Carlo Ruffalo." he snarled. "And I am not afraid of a man in a mask. Marco, Silvio, kill that ratto!(rat!)" The two men nodded their heads at the command and then grabbed their weapons that were stuffed in their back pockets. In each hand, Marco and Silvio held two Mateba Model 6 Unica Hunter revolvers. Just when they were about to point their guns, La Volpe, with great speed, grabbed two throwing knives from his utility belt and hurled them both at Marco and Silvio. The knives were very small, approximately 6.5 inches in overall length, and they were leaf-shaped. The throwing knives, or kunai as the Japanese call them, knocked the pistols from the two men's hands on impact. At the same time, La Volpe darted towards in-between them and karate chopped them both on each sides of their necks, knocking them both down hard on the ground unconscious. La Volpe then twisted his torso to the side and pointed his finger at Carlo.

"You just claimed that you were not afraid of me, signore,(sir,) " he called out somberly. "and yet you order your teppisti(thugs) to do your dirty work for you! Ha! I'm beginning to think you really are a codardo.(coward.)" Carlo snarled under his breath. He could not believe that this man, this La Volpe, had the nerve, the audacity to call him a coward.

"I'll show you who's the codardo!(coward!)" Carlo snarled. And just like that, he grabbed from his pocket an Italian switchblade and got into a fighting stance. La Volpe smirked under his mask.

"So be it." he said, getting into a fighting stance of his own. "Come and fight me then."

And so, Carlo cried out as he charged with his weapon at the hooded vigilante. Right when he thought he was close enough, he lunged his blade forward at the enemy before him, but La Volpe was too quick, and dodged to the side. He then grabbed Carlo's arm and swung him down hard to the ground on his back, almost knocking the wind right out of him.

_Too easy_. La Volpe thought, as he quickly grabbed the switchblade and tossed it to the side. He then dragged Carlo to the end of the alley, grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, and forced him to stand and place his back against the wall. Carlo looked at him with fear written on his face while the hooded vigilante glared at the man with dark, somber eyes. Somber eyes that could pierce your soul in a matter of seconds just by gazing at them.

"Let me go!" Carlo begged as his voice was now laced with dread. "Please, don't hurt me! I'll do anything. Anything at all!" La Volpe inched his face closer to Carlo's and growled lowly.

"O, come i potenti sono caduti.(O, how the mighty have fallen.)" he growled. "You and your amici(friends) are going to prison where you belong." And so, without warning, La Volpe socked Carlo square in the face, knocking the young thug unconscious. Soon after that, the hooded vigilante rounded up all four of the crooks and then tied them up together. Suddenly, police sirens echoed from a far distance. Someone must have reported what just happened tonight. And then, La Volpe's eyes shifted towards the exit that stood far ahead of the alley and then he marched on over there. After reaching the end, he slowly turned his gaze over to the left side.

"I know your still here." he said. "It is alright. You do not have to fear me. You are safe now." After a moment, nothing happened, but then, a small noise was heard. La Volpe watched as the girl from before emerged out from the shadows and revealed herself to him. After she did so, the hooded vigilante examined her appearance. She appeared to be in her late teens, approximately either seventeen or eighteen. She had light-tan colored skin and her long brunette hair were in pigtails. She was dressed in an ocean-blue colored t-shirt and dark-blue pants. The hooded vigilante slowly began to approach her. But as he did so, she took one step back, feeling a little bit fearful. La Volpe noticed this then held both hands up.

"It is alright, miss." he said gently. "You have nothing to fear. I promise, I will not hurt you." The girl looked up at him and slowly nodded her head. And so, he approached the girl and examined her to make sure she did not have bruises or anything. After that, he placed both his gloved hands on her shoulders.

"How are you feeling right now?" he asked. "Do you feel okay? Nothing bothering you?"

"Well, I'm a little bit shaken up," she said. "but, I think I will be alright."

"Bene,(Good,) the polizia(police) should be here at any moment now." he explained. "You should wait here until they arrive."

"Merci.(Thank you.)" she said. "I'm just glad that you were there to save me." Upon hearing 'Merci', La Volpe couldn't help but recognize the phrase.

"O, I take it you are from France, sì?(yes?)" he asked. "Pardon me signora,(ma'am,) but I could not help but notice your accent." The girl looked at him, made a small smirk, and shook her head.

"I'm from Seychelles actually." she explained. "I'm part of an exchange student program at my school back home. I've only arrived here in Venice four days ago. But, if you don't mind me asking, who are you?" The hooded vigilante smirked under his mask and bowed his head.

"La Volpe, at your service." he introduced. The girl smiled and nodded her head.

"Nice to meet you, Monsieur La Volpe.(Mister La Volpe.)" she responded. "My name is Michelle."

"A pleasure to meet you as well, La signorina Michelle.(Miss Michelle.)" But before the two could begin their growing conversation, the two whipped their heads to a suddenly growing sound. Police sirens wailed and echoed in the distance and sounded like they were getting much closer than before. Michelle and La Volpe turned their gazes back to each other.

"That would be by queue to leave." The hooded vigilante said. He reached behind his utility belt and drew out what appeared to be a grapple gun. Before he could do anything, Michelle grabbed him by the arm.

"Wait." she said. La Volpe turned his gaze back to her. "Will I see you again?" La Volpe chuckled lightly at the question.

"That would depend if you ever get in trouble again." he responded. Michelle smiled at the joke and let go of his arm. The hooded vigilante then aimed his grapple gun at the top of a nearby rooftop and pulled the trigger.

A grappling hook was launched from the nozzle of the gun and the hook perfectly latched onto the rooftop. La Volpe pressed the small button on the grapple gun and the strong wire pulled him upwards into the air and the hooded vigilante disappeared into the darkness that loomed above. By the time the police arrived, they had found Michelle and treated her well and kindly. And then, they found Carlo and his small gang all tied up together and still unconscious.

What the police found next was a small piece of paper on the ground next to Carlo with the letters 'LV' written on the front.

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**Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the second chapter. Let me know what you think by leaving a review. And again, if I got some things wrong, just let me know. Catch ya later, folks. ^_^**


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